Opus One, always daring to be different, opened its season with a super Stax concert Saturday night at the Levitt Shell.

You might think there's nothing new coming from Stax, but the tumultuous mid-1970s — with involuntary bankruptcy of the label and numerous lawsuits muddying claims — was a time when some creative work got short shrift.

Such was the case with Stax musician John Gary Williams, the evening's featured entertainer, whose self-titled album from 40 years ago got critical acclaim but little exposure.

But with the backing of the Opus One ensemble from the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, some of the tunes on the album got their first public performance.

In the 1960s, Williams was in the Stax quartet the Mad Lads, which had scored some hits ("Don't Have To Shop Around" and "I Want Someone"). Saturday night, a reconstituted foursome with Williams, Freddie Durham, Richard Williams and Chilly Bill Rankin, sang from John Gary Williams' solo album, accompanied by the Bo-Keys and Opus One.

There is something grand when great work gets a new life. Williams brought a lifetime of emotion to the songs from his past, including the achingly sad "Ask The Lonely," the optimistic "I See Hope" and the dark "The Whole Damn World Is Going Crazy" from his 1973 album. (Also performed was a well-arranged version of the awful sappy pop dirge "Honey" — why?).

The concert was a triumph for Williams, whose revived fortunes are due in part to Bo-Keys founder Scott Bomar. The band also backed Percy Wiggins, whose beautiful voice carried "Writing on the Wall."

Also in the mix was a delightful Elvis Presley medley — a non-Stax departure of the evening — by a brass quartet of MSO musicians.

What was not in the evening's mix was any sort of classical work, a first for Opus One. It could have used one. Some of the orchestral tunes were, despite the Stax heritage, soporific and uninspired. Adding even one light and lively classical piece would have been good for the soul.